Identity Cards: Expenditure

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to his Department of providing identity cards has been to date; and what his most recent estimate is of the cost of the identity card trial scheme in Greater Manchester.

Meg Hillier: The National Identity Service (NIS) Cost Report presented to Parliament in October 2009 sets out the latest estimated 10-year future costs of the NIS, which includes the initial costs of roll-out which started in Greater Manchester on 30 November.
	The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) Annual Report and Accounts for 2009-10 will include audited disclosure of operational identity card income and expenditure.
	The National Identity Service combines a number of programmes to deliver modern passports which include facial images and fingerprints, as well as identity cards and other improvements. This is the most cost-effective way to deliver these initiatives because much of the technology and operational processes involved are shared. Total spend on NIS future development projects since April 2006 to September.